


Tattoos and Piercings

by TheVampireAvatar



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: M/M, Tattoo AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-27
Updated: 2017-04-04
Packaged: 2018-10-11 11:07:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,991
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10463496
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheVampireAvatar/pseuds/TheVampireAvatar
Summary: Mako Rutledge was hesitant to hire Jamison Fawkes. After all, Gabriel only offered the job to the blonde because he knew it would annoy Mako, but he did need somebody to do piercings, so maybe it wouldn't be that bad? But where Jamie is concerned, who knows?Based off of mozg-art's AU over on tumblr!





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> If you haven't yet seen this awesome AU I recommend checking it out! The link will be at the end for those who are interested. It hasn't gotten nearly enough attention so hopefully this will help out lol. Probably will add more as I think of ideas/ things are posted.

Mako Rutledge was designing a new tattoo on his drawing board when he heard the door to his shop open, rattling the bell tied to the knob. They had a little bell attached to the door to alert them and actually drag them aware from their work, such as a time like this, so whoever came in wouldn’t go unnoticed. With a cursory glance at who it was, and assuming it was another client, Mako called out to another one of his employees, “Gabriel,” he grunted. “Can you see what they want?” 

“I would, but I’m in the middle of a session.” When Mako looked over he saw Gabriel hunched over and working on a client, getting a skull on their back. Had he been working long? The skull was almost done and the client definitely hadn’t been there the last time that he looked up. Mako guessed that his art really was distracting him today. “Plus,” Gabriel smirked with a chuckle. “I have a feeling you’re gonna wanna take this one.” 

Now filled with suspicion, Mako rose and walked over to the front counter where a blonde man stood. He seemed to be aimlessly fidgeting in place while he looked around his shop as he waited for service. 

He was tall, Mako realized, but not as tall as him. He really hadn’t met anybody that even came close, though, but he supposed that he would give him credit where it was due. The blonde also had a lot of piercings all over his face and ears, almost impressing him. He hadn’t seen that many holes in somebody’s face in a while. The man also wore some bracelets with tiny spikes on them and rings on his fingers, showing off how skinny they were. His clothing was decent enough, especially for a place like this. Just a simple band tee shirt with the sleeves a bit tattered at the ends, (making Mako wonder if it was suppose to be like that or from simple wear and tear over the years) and some shorts that matched his shirt style and had fuzzies at the end of them. 

“Can I help you?” Mako rumbled, voice deep enough to intimidate some people. It seemed to work a bit on this chap, the man jumped a bit and snapped his head to where Mako now stood. 

“Er, yeah, think so.” The man stood up a bit straighter and smiled nervously. Mako had to hide his wince when he spoke, his voice was so annoying it was hard to even listen to it. And even though he had only said four words, it was obviously accented from somewhere. Australia maybe? “Gabe said something ‘bout a job and ’m here for that.” 

Mako blinked. He wasn’t hiring anybody. It took him about a second to realize what Gabriel had done and he looked over his shoulder at the man in question. Gabe seemed to be downright grinning as he worked on his client, not looking up at his boss. Based on how hard his shoulders were shaking, though, he knew that Mako had found out about his joke. 

“Not hiring.” 

“‘Scuse me?” The man scrunched up his eyebrows in confusion. 

“I’m,” Mako turned back to the man. “I’m not hiring anybody now. There’s been a...mistake.” He was about to turn back and go back to designing when that obnoxious voice rang back out to him.

“Well, then, can I at least get a piercing while I’m here?” 

Now Mako scrunched his eyebrows in confusion and, maybe, annoyance. “We don’t do piercings. Just tattoos.” 

“Then, mate, looks like you’re hiring.” The blonde actually had the gall to smile at that. 

He stopped and looked at the man who oh so eagerly showed up to his shop. He did have a point, he wouldn’t admit it to anybody, but he did. He could use somebody who does piercings and it would benefit the shop to expand, even just a little bit. Besides, he only did have two employees, it might be okay to have a third. And even if it didn’t, Mako could just fire him without any harm and find a better replacement. 

“C’mon, just interview me. Ask a few questions, I’ll answer whatever ya want.” 

Mako was still debating whether or not to even let him come back to where he had his station to ask him questions when Gabriel spoke out, “Come on, Mako, just let him back here, already!” 

He swore he could hear Amelié laughing now somewhere in the background. He groaned, rubbing his eyes, and nodded. He turned around and went back to his desk, not bothering to check to see if the man was actually even coming back with him. If he really wanted the job, he’d better get used to the little talk Mako did and know his body language. Most people didn’t and usually would seem a bit more anxious than one would expect when they get their tattoos done by him. But that’s whatever. 

As it turns out, the blonde did follow him back and sat on the chair people would lay on to get their ink. He propped his feet up and flashed a cocky grin at Mako. “Ask away, boss.” 

“I’m not your boss.” 

“Not yet!” 

Mako grunted and pushed aside his design he had been working on before this all started. It’d been so long since he actually gave an interview he had to think about the questions he had wanted to ask. Amelié and Gabriel had been working there for how long? At least two years and he had been working by himself for longer than that for sure. Maybe he should start with just basic information about the kid. 

As promised, the kid had answered every question he was asked. He was twenty-five years old and had been looking for a job that fit his style for a while. Jamison, also known as Jamie, had done all his piercings himself and had done a few on Gabriel. Turns out he knew Gabriel as a friend for a little over a year and a half, and was somewhat familiar of Amelié too. He had moved from Australia and was living in an apartment about fifteen minutes from the shop on foot. And speaking of foot, turns out he only had one full leg. “Long story, mate! Best save it for later,” he claimed when asked about it. 

“Jamie,” Gabe called from his side of the room. “You should show him your ink!” 

Mako raised an eyebrow at him in curiosity. He had tattoos? 

Jamie grinned and rolled down his sock to reveal a small little tattoo. “Like I said, I do everythin’ myself. Piercings, tattoos, you name it!” 

Mako hummed to himself. He did that? “Where you’d get a tattoo gun from? The kit themselves are pretty expensive, not to mention the ink.” 

“Oh, I did it the ol’ fashioned way. Y’know, sharpie and a sewing needle?” 

Mako nearly winced. People did this a lot, he knew, but dammit, he hated hearing that shit. His face must’ve given away his distaste for that because Jamie asked if he was okay and he heard Amelié stop her work to listen better in. 

“You stay away from the tattoo guns and ink until I train you properly. You start tomorrow, we open at noon. Eat before you get here.” 

Jamie flashed a grin at Mako again, but this one was less cocky and more, well, happy. It did something to Mako’s chest he hadn’t felt in year and he averted his eyes so he wouldn’t have to look at that smile. He heard Gabriel and Amelié celebrate and congratulate his new employee and he allowed him to look up at their happy smiles. He did the right thing, right?

If the butterflies in his stomach was anything to go off on, he would say he did. And like he had thought earlier, if he had to fire him, then so be it. As of right now, however, he really didn’t want to send away the man he just hired. 

The next day held some challenges that Mako had expected. He thought it over the night before and had decided to wait to change his sign and business cards until Jamie had been with them for a while to see how he did. With that said, nobody really came into get a piercing all day. And yeah, they were open pretty late into the night, but Mako had run his shop for over ten years and he never once had piercing as an option. Most everybody knew that. So, Jamie spent most of the day arranging his things at his new desk. 

Mako was immensely glad that he had his own kit for piercings, at least he took that seriously, but the first challenge was keeping it sterile. Jamie didn’t really see the point in it and told Mako that he’d sterilize the skin before he plunged his needle through it, but even that didn’t satisfy his new boss. 

“The needle, the skin, and your hands have to be sterile, Jamie. You can’t just say that germs don’t exist or that your client won’t get infected from it.” 

“Everybody I’ve done it on-.”

“Is a fool for letting you do that without making sure everything was clean.” 

It had take a while for him to get used to the basic hygiene rules for piercings, but it was worth it. A few months down the road and Mako changed his sign and advertisements to allow his shop to do piercings and tattoos full time now, or at least the days that Jamie and somebody else worked. Jamie was the only one who did the piercings and he wasn’t allowed to practice his tattoo work until Mako gave him the okay to do so. 

“I want my arm tattooed.” Jamie one day, out of the blue, told Mako. The day was pretty slow at the shop. It was just the two of them and Jamie insisted on sitting in the chair for clients at Mako’s desk anytime that it wasn’t occupied. Mako was messing around on his computer, answering emails and getting inspirations for new ideas, when Jamie said this and paused to look at him. 

Mako was almost afraid to ask, but did so anyway. If nothing else, just to get a good laugh.“What do you want?” 

“Dunno. Somethin’ robotic looking to match the leg.” As if to emphasis what leg he was talking about, he lifted his metal prosthetic into the air and waved it before putting it down. 

Okay. 

Well, that wasn’t what he expected. At all. 

Jamie looked over at him (he still got butterflies every time that he saw Jamie and refused to admit it, even to himself) and smirked that damn smirk he got when he got an idea. “Wanna trade?” 

His eyebrows scrunched and he grunted in confusion. Jamie knew what he was asking and responding to explain what he meant, “I’ll do ya a piercing if you do me. A tattoo, that is. A tattoo.” He chuckled a bit and rubbed the back of his neck. Mako even let himself smile to himself before he nodded. 

“Sure, if you do what I showed you to prepare.” 

“Yeah, yeah,” Jamie grumbled as he hopped up and practically skipped over to his station to get his needles ready. “What do you want pierced?” 

Mako looked at himself in the little mirror he had next to his desk and thought about it. He already had his earlobes pierced and didn’t really think he wanted something else, but why not? It wasn’t like he had to pay for it and he knew that everything was going to be sterile. He wouldn’t let Jamie even think about coming near him without prepping his area correctly. 

“My nose,” he grunted after a minute of thinking. 

“Oh yeah? What part? No, no, no, wait! Lemme guess-your nostril? I could see you havin’ that.” 

“This part,” he gestured to the area he was talking about and Jamie looked up to see what he was talking about briefly before going back to his kit. 

“A septum piercing? Definitely fits you better than a nostril piercing, mate.” He chuckled to himself and Mako got up from his desk and walked over to Jamie’s sation. He sat down in the chair and felt Jamie apply some liquid to his nose. It made him want to sneeze, but Jamie told him not to and told him to talk to distract himself from it. 

It was a far cry from how he wanted his clients to act. The less talking the better honestly, he wasn’t good at small talk, which is why when his clients came back they’d usually bring something to do rather than attempt to talk to him.

Jamie was leaning over him now and Mako could feel his heart race for more reasons than one. Their faces weren’t close really, but it felt better than Mako would’ve liked. He liked Jamie’s hands on his face and needed to stop the blood from rushing to his face before he would start blushing. Maybe Jamie was right, and he needed to talk to him before he did something he’d regret. He knew Jamie for a few months now and he never really got a straight answer to how he lost his leg, just a vague one whenever it was mentioned. 

“Jamie,” Mako said hesitantly. “How did you lose your leg?” 

He could feel those hands, those small, tiny, skinny, long hands, hesitate for just a second before they resumed what they were doing on his face. “I, uh, got in an accident when I was in high school.” He shoved the needle through and chuckled a bit at Mako’s wince when the needle went through. 

Mako wasn’t going to prompt for more, it was the standard answer he usually received from Jamie when he asked. Jamie smiled awkwardly down at Mako and patted his forehead. "Ya did good, and lookat that! No need for docs or anything," he cackled at that and smiled that real, beautiful smile down at Mako, wiping away the blood that came out from his new piercing. Mako blushed and wished that his face was the only place his blood was flowing. 

“Ya know how to take care of it, roight?” 

Mako nodded and looked at his new face in the mirror as he willed himself to calm down. He almost grinned at how he looked, his new face suited him a lot more than before. Well, not new face per-say. Just a new addition to his face. Honestly, it looked pretty good on him. Even though it was just a starter, the ring around his nose gave him a sense of belonging. He definitely didn’t mess up with his choice of placement, that’s for sure. And, the better part? He didn’t notice it at first, and he hoped Jamie didn’t either, but now the two matched in at least one aspect-Jamie had his septum pierced too. Maybe he needed Jamie's help more than he knew.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Je ne sais pas

Jamie probably worked more than anybody else, but that was okay. After all, there were three tattoo artists, and only one of him to do piercings! If Mako wanted to hire more people to do piercings, he was able to, no problem. But at the same time, he hasn’t even mentioned hiring more people even after a few months working there.It made Jamie kinda laugh and sing that stupid little jingle from that one show: The wonderful thing about piercers is I’m the only one! 

Was piercers an actual title? Or, better yet, was it even a word? Who cares, he decided, it suited him the best so he would keep it. 

It seemed to happen sooner rather than later, but Jamie eventually noticed that the slow day that he and Mako had was frequently like that on Tuesdays. He also began to notice that he began to work more on those slow Tuesdays, the only other person there being, of course, Mako. Not that he minded, of course! As mentioned before, Mako was the only other person there and the two always enjoyed having alone time together. 

It almost made Jamie wonder if Mako was like him and played for the other team, interested in others people, not that type of man, however the hell people wanted to tiptoe around the term, Jamison Fawkes wanted to know if Mako Rutledge was gay or not. Or, at least, interested in men. Or, at the very least, if he even had a chance to be with the man. Mako wasn’t really like most men, he thought with a cheesy grin lighting up his face. (Jamie snickered and cackled a laugh, he can’t believe he actually used that line!) And it wasn’t just personality that Jamie was talking about, Mako was huge! 

He’d never seen a man that was that big. Jamie had a thing for big guys, and hooley dooley, was Mako big. Very few guys are taller than Jamie, but nobody was taller than Mako. It was impossible to be! And not only was his height impressive, his weight was even more so! And that wasn’t a bad thing, not in the least. In fact, it only made Mako that much more attractive to the blonde. With that sickening grin people get whenever they think of that one person, Jamie thought back to when he first saw the giant of a man. He’d be the first to admit that his first interaction with Mako had been nerve wracking, and honestly a bit thrilling. He’d never have a problem with any aspect of Mako and was in fact, in love, with every part of him. 

But what he did have a problem with was when people made fun of Mako for anything to do with him, most of all his weight aspect. something he found out happened a lot more than he would’ve liked. Growing up the way he did, he was used to a lot of the names he was called and could handle people making fun of him for anything they saw or thought, no problem. As soon as those ‘jokes’ turned on his friends or Mako, that was when things got red for him. 

In fact, he remembered fondly, there was one time where he got even with some stupid bloke who tried to have a go at his boss. Mako wanted his employees/friends to know that he expected each person who came in to get whatever they want done to leave with a memorable experience. Mako, to Jamie’s knowledge, never found out about what he had done, but he definitely made sure that the customer would never forget his experience.

See, that was a time that Jamie wasn’t going to forget for a while, either. He’d been working on sterilizing his equipment like Mako coerced him to do so with his client in his chair, fidgeting nervously. He was getting a piercing on his ear and it was his first, right on the earlobes, but let’s be real. The earlobes don’t count for shit, babies got them. Literal babies got them and unless the person getting them was attractive, Jamie silently judged them for it. And this guy sure as hell was not attractive. Maybe at first, but soon Mako walked by to get a different color ink for his gun and he and Jamie made eye contact for a split second. Mako looked away after a second of holding his gaze and Jamie smiled to himself. 

“Surprised an earthquake didn’t happen.” The guy in the chair chuckled once Mako was out of earshot. 

Immediately, Jamie felt his muscles stiffen and the hair on the back of his neck raised. “‘Scuse me?” 

The man’s grin widened and he intimidated Mako walking by and tried to gesture with his hands. “I swear man, the floor shakes with every step he takes, he’s so fat.” To emphasise, he made his hands shake and tried to smile again, but awkwardly. Jamie didn’t have to look in the mirror to know that he didn’t look entirely pleased with the man’s horrible joke. In fact, Jamie was livid. He’d gotten into fights for less before, but Gabriel told him that he couldn’t get into any physical fights otherwise Mako would be forced to let him go, and he really liked working here and he really liked Mako. He’d get even, but not with his fists. 

The man must’ve gotten the impression what he said wasn’t acceptable but wasn’t silent either. To try and make amends without apologizing or bringing the incident back up, he attempted to make awkward small talk. Normally, Jamie would reply to what he wanted with the clients or even come up with a conversation for them so they wouldn't be entirely nervous while he worked on them. But fuck this guy. Jamie wasn’t in the mood to talk and just wanted him to get the hell out of Mako’s store. So, he prepped his tools just that much faster if only to accomplish his goal.

The man still seemed nervous about getting his ears pierced, so to calm him Jamie spoke in the softest voice he could manage without there being any cracks in it. “Okay, ‘m gonna punch it at three, alroight mate?” He held the gun over the exposed skin, grinning to himself on the inside. 

“‘Kay, man. Just, uh, please be careful. Don’t mess it up or nothing, yeah?” 

“Oh, don’t worry ‘bout that! ‘M a professional after all. Ready?” His fingers twitched on the metal gun, ready for it to just go through. 

The man gave a feasible nod. “On three.” 

“Three!” His fingers pulled the trigger and sent the starter earring through the sensitive skin, and unsurprisingly, the man flinched and shot up in the chair with a shout of alarm. It made everybody in the shop look up at and stare at the two. Mako twitched an eyebrow up in question from across the room, but Jamie was more focused on trying not to laugh and give his act away. 

“Wh-what happened to one and two, man?!” The man panted as he rubbed at his ear. 

“Oh, dontcha know? Aussies spit on one and two, mate. Though’ a big tough man like ya would understand, we don’t count down for just anythin’.” 

“W...well, yeah,” the man stuttered, trying to show that his masculinity wasn’t as frail as Jamie was hinting at. “But it still hurt.” 

“Too right, but would two little numbers make a difference?” He smiled and got the gun ready for the second hole. “Now, sit down, ya still got one to go.” 

By the time that Jamie had finished his piercings, his client was paler than before, by a quite noticeable difference. Only after the second one was in did he allow the man to look in the mirror set by his station. Jamie had gotten revenge before and this time was no different. The satisfaction that was brought to him when the man turned around, a few shades paler than he was before, was just as good as it was when he was allowed to use his fists. The desperate horror that was written in the client’s eyes almost Jamie nearly lost all control right there. He had to turn back to his station and pretend to fiddle with the equipment there so he wouldn’t give himself away and cackle at the man. 

“They’re not even.” 

Jamie looked up at the man with a hint of amusement in his eyes. “Hmm?” 

“The earrings, man! They ain’t even with each other!” 

Oh, how convenient that was. Oops. Jamie scrunched up his face and couldn’t help but have that amused tone in his voice as he stood behind the mirror and rested his hands on his client’s shoulders. “Guess we’ll hafta do that again then.” 

Boy, did he love fucking with people. 

He’d been working at the shop for a while now and it felt amazing. He didn’t think that he would ever love working so much. Jamie couldn’t decide if it was because of the fact that he was paid to literally stab people or the fact that he was able to work with friends. He became closer to Gabe than he was before and he even managed to befriend Amélie while he was at it. Perhaps the most impressive relationship he’s built in the months he’s been there would probably have to be with Mako. The man appeared to be this massive murder machine, especially with those intimidating tattoos he’s got. (The man had two sleeves on his arms! Arms bigger than Jamie’s head!) But in reality, he seemed like a teddy bear to the blonde. He was especially proud of himself for not only befriending the giant of a man, but being able to decipher everything he grunted or however he felt like communicating that day. 

“So,” Amélie stretched herself out on the chair next to Jamie’s station and twirled as far as the chair would allow. 

“So?” Jamie asked as he briefly looked up from his phone. Unlike the other employees there, when he wasn’t with a paying customer (“Client,” Mako scolded) he didn’t get to spend his time working on designs or other cool stuff, he just got to do paperwork or something boring. It made his fingers twitch, just wanting to do anything at that point. He welcomed her distraction in all honesty. 

“I have decided something.” 

“I’ll be stuffed. You?” 

Amélie grinned at his joke and shrugged. “I want a lip piercing.” 

“Really?” 

She nodded and twirled again in the seat. Jamie, although a bit surprised, got his equipment ready. This would be his third piercing on the other employees while he was there. He pierced Mako’s nose, Gabriel’s ears, and now Amélie’s face got added to the list. 

“So.” 

“So?” 

“I see how you look at Mako.” Jamie felt his cheeks started to blush but pushed past that. Best not to show it for now, he didn’t even know for sure if Mako was into him. By his lack of response, however, Amélie knew she had him cornered. “You should ask him out.” 

“D-don’t really know what ya mean there, mate.” 

She laughed wickedly and leaned closer to him. “Don’t lie to me, Fawkes.”

“Ain’t lying.” 

“Bullshit. Whenever you see him you get this stupid smile on your face.” She raised her eyebrow and flickered her eyes over to Mako, across the room. He was working on designing more stuff or something last Jamie had checked. A little over ten minutes ago. Maybe. Jamie followed her quick gaze and saw that he was right, he was sitting there still doodling away. God, he was such a great artist. Not that he would ever admit it, but sometimes he wondered what other things those massive hands of his could do. It often filled him with butterflies and fantasies that he quickly dispelled. 

“There’s that smile.” 

This time there was no stopping the blush. Before she could fully comment on that, he pushed her back down into the seat and held the gun up to her lip, randoming placing it where he thought it looked best. After all, he hasn’t received any complaints on where he think somebody could use some facial jewels. Granted, he didn’t have any clients who came to him without a placement already wanted, so he didn’t ever advice people. Oh well, first time for anything! 

Amélie tried to speak again, smiling slightly as he leaned over her. “Ah, ah, ah, no talkin’.” Jamie poked her forehead back down to the seat with the gun, carefully making sure to not dislodge the stud ring inside. Just for good measure, he held her lip and pinched it just a bit more harder than he may have needed. 

Once she was done, she had thanked him and went back to her own station. He was left alone at his and he studied himself in the mirror for a minute or two before prepping his gun again. He wanted a new piercing. If anything, it was to distract himself from the thoughts of Mako. Amélie was quickly becoming like a sister to him and she had a point, he really did like his boss. But to what extent? 

Just as he lined up the gun to his ear, studying himself carefully in the mirror, he felt a hand drop onto his shoulders. “You know,” a deep voice sounded behind him, startling him and almost coercing him into jumping. His trigger happy fingers clenched and the gun sounded as it clicked (thankfully) away from his ear. “It’s probably better if you don’t pierce yourself.” 

After forcing his heart to calm down, Jamie turned to Mako with a huff. “I already told ya I do everythin’ myself. Piercings included.” 

“Hmm.” Mako saw down on the chair that was just occupied by Amélie. Jamie knew this one, that particular tone he took a lot meant that he was in disapproval of something. Probably Jamie shoving needles into his flesh without proper guidance. Well, fuck that. He’s been doing that since he was ten years old. He did it with a hot needle and an apple slice, just like on that one movie! 

“Didja need somethin’?” Jamie asked again as he lined up the gun to his ear, swatting away Mako’s massive hands when they tried to take the gun away from him. He wasn’t sure if Mako was just teasing him or was actually going to try and take it away, but Jamie wouldn’t let him. Don’t get him wrong, as tempting as it was to have those hands near his face, Jamie wanted to prove that he could, and would, do this on his own. 

Mako didn’t say anything and Jamie paused to let him get his word or two in, but when nothing came out of his boss friend, he mentally shrugged and clicked the gun. Or at least tried to, honestly, having Mako so close and just watching him was nerve wracking, not to mention distracting. Honestly, it wouldn’t be a surprise if Jamie somehow fucked up piercing himself with how often his eyes kept flickering over to see what expression Mako was wearing. His fingers instinctively clenched together from the nerves, shooting the needle through his flesh. He barely flinched thanks to the years of trial and error he had under his belt at his practice, instead he smiled nervously. 

Mako still hadn’t said anything yet, so he looked over at him again. He had this expression on his face that Jamie really hadn’t seen before. His eyebrows seemed to be relaxed, along with the rest of his face, but something was off. Almost like those I -spy books his mom used to get him, the pictures were almost exactly the same with only a few differences. Mako’s face was different from those books though because each difference held a different meaning and Jamie hadn’t seen this face before. He didn’t know what it meant and it was pretty frustrating, he had to admit. 

It wasn’t until Mako’s eyes moved from his own towards something slightly off to the side. Jamie snapped to his senses and blinked rapidly. Was he really just staring at Mako that entire time? Fuck, how long passed, that couldn’t have been that long right? Right? Mako’s face shifted and Jamie still didn’t know what had caught his attention and he shifted his head to try to figure out what he was looking at. Nothing was there, however, and he turned back to Mako with a confused expression.

“You’re bleeding.” Mako mumbled next to him with a stupidly cute smile on his face. 

“What?” Jamie blinked and reached up to his ear. Sure enough, as he pulled away, he had red on his fingertips. He couldn’t even feel it. “Oh, fuck!” He quickly started to fiddle with the ear piercing and came to the realization that he had messed up and had shot it in the wrong spot in his ear, probably too deep or something. Just as he was taking the earring out, cursing his luck under his breath, he felt the deep laughter coming from his left where Mako sat. 

Was that bastard laughing at him? 

Jamie turned to his and tried his damned hardest to scowl but ended up trying horribly to hid his lips twitching into a smile. “What are ya laughin’ at?” 

Mako slowly stopped laughing, which almost disappointed Jamie. “You,” Mako spoke as if it was the most obvious thing in the universe. Jamie felt like he should’ve been offended, but by the way that Mako said it, he only felt his heart race and his guts twist so tightly it was borderline painful. 

“Jamie?” Mako waved his hand in front of his face. Fuck, he really had to stop spacing out like that. 

“Huh, what?” 

“Did you hear me?” 

And que the blushing. “Erm, no, sorry, mate, what was tha’?” 

“Do you want to grab something to drink later?” Mako folded his arms under his head and patiently waited for Jamie to respond. 

Oh. Oh, fuck. If Jamie thought his guts were twisted before then it was strangling now. Holy fuck he almost felt nauseous at the thought of going out to get a drink with Mako. Did he mean as a date or just as friends? He wouldn’t blame him if it were the latter, but holy shit did he want the former. Quickly realizing that he still hadn’t given Mako with an answer, (and not wanting to let himself space over thinking this) he quickly nodded. “Yeah, yeah, sure mate! We can do that!” 

\-----

The two of them had decided to go get their drinks the next day before work. The shop was going to bit a bit busier than it had been that day and it would give them something to look forward to. (Not that piercing and putting permanent ink into people isn’t fun already.) Mako honestly was a bit nervous about the entire event. He hadn’t been on a date in how long? It felt like years, so it probably was somewhere around that. Besides, he didn’t even know if Jamie realized that it was a legit date, not just two guys getting together for a drink. They weren’t even going to get alcohol, both because he knew Jamie walked home and he didn’t trust himself to hold onto a drunk Aussie on his bike. There was this cute coffee shop that he thought Jamie would like. He liked it at least, so that was something. 

Mako been overall nervous whenever he went to work for the last two months. Well, moreso on the days that he knew Jamie worked. When Jamie wasn’t working he felt disappointed and had no desire to go, honestly. At first he just thought that it had something to do with the atmosphere or his stupid jokes. Once he actually realized what the, once thought dead, feelings were, he knew he was in trouble for a multitude of reasons. Jamie was almost half his age and he didn’t even know if Jamie was interested in men, let alone men who were old enough to be his father. The Australian had brought out reactions and feelings from Mako that he didn’t really like, let alone let, people see. It was ruining the social image he had created for himself and Mako really wasn’t sure if he was comfortable with that. But it wasn’t like he could just not go near Jamie or ignore him. He tried, and it only ended with a bout of lashing out and him getting upset just that much quicker. If his hair wasn’t grey before it definitely would’ve been by the time he got the nerve to actually ask this stupid, annoying, obnoxiously gorgeous child out. 

It felt almost out of character for him to act this way around Jamie anyway. When he had seen Amélie sitting over at Jamie’s station he couldn’t help but feel curious and, on a more discrete level, a tad bit possessive. He hadn’t acted this way in a very long time, if ever. On one hand, he could blame something he ate if ever confronted about it. On the other hand, that boy had a gift to worming his way into Mako’s heart. It just had something to do with that attitude, the way that he had to find something to smile, curse, or just get super fucking hyper about everything. 

He didn’t really know what to say. How do the French say it? That one saying when somebody is clueless in the ways of...everything? Maybe? Oh well, he sighed. He’d remember it later. 

He had given Jamie the directions to the coffee shop and was waiting outside for his companion. Depending on how the date went, he hopefully would be able to change that label into something more. It’s all he had been hoping for for a while. He’d drop subtle hints that he was interested in the blonde, but he couldn’t tell if Jamie was returning those feelings or not. The man just seemed excited about everything! He always had an opinion he wanted to share with the world, wanted or not. It was something that both annoyed and excited Mako. 

He shifted his weight around, sighing in impatience. Where was that boy? He hadn’t texted or called, he was checking his phone every couple of seconds just in case he did. 

It had been almost ten minutes after their agreed meeting time and Mako was beginning to wonder if this was a bad idea. Had he set himself up just to be broken down? That would be Mako’s luck, if he was honest with himself. He was used to being teased and being the receiving end of many pranks in his time. This wouldn’t be the first time that somebody would stand him up, it probably wouldn’t be the last if Jamie didn’t work out.

Fuck it. He had enough. Mako stepped off the curb and began to walk away with a bitter taste in his mouth. If he wasn’t going to show up for their date, then he ‘d better see him at work. At least then they’d had enough people coming through that day to distract him long enough from the fresh pain that had settled in his gut. If it all worked the way that he wanted it to, he wouldn’t have to even have to look at Jamison. That scrawny, one legged, son of a-!

“G’day, Mako!” Jamison’s voice suddenly cut through his thoughts. “Hope I didn’t keep ya waitin’ for long.” He waved his metal leg in the air as he limped over to where Mako stood. “My leggie’s been actin’ up lately so it took me a bit longer than normal to get here.” 

Mako looked down at Jamie and instantly felt butterflies beginning to flutter around his stomach, quickly dispatching all negative emotions he had managed to conjure.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ Yay for chapter two!  
> Edit: so it's been pointed out to me that piercing guns aren't exactly safe. Mako doesn't know anything about this yet, but trust me, he will haha. Thanks to those who pointed it out to me :)


	3. Chapter 3

Mako accidentally started the date (Jamie hoped that’s what this was! It’s what he was calling it at least, so henceforth it shall be known as such!) perfectly. The Australian was still trying to find a store that carried boba tea and this place did! He was so excited that he actually bounced on the balls of his feet as he ordered one, barely restraining his voice to an indoor appropriate level. His companion, on the other hand, had just stated what he had wanted in a soft, quiet voice. Jamie noticed the difference in their styles and found it  almost endearing. When he tried to tell him so, he realized what he was doing, blushed subtly, and left it alone. Then Mako had paid for both of their drinks,  with Jamie questioning why when he did. Mako said it was just polite and they left it at that. 

The two opted to sit outside on the curb in front of the store. Why not? It was a nice day out and the parking lot was mostly empty anyway. A few birds were around them, some flying above and some scavenging for scraps in the parking lot. Even through his sunglasses, the sun was bright outside. Nothing like the Australian sun, of course, but this one was good enough to burn away any clouds. Luckily, the awning from the store provided enough shade for them so it wasn’t too unbearable.

Next to him, Mako sipped on the straw that he got from inside. He didn’t know why he even grabbed it, it wasn’t like Mako’s drink needed a straw. And speaking of being not needed….

Jamie kept throwing quick glances at Mako, trying to look at him without being caught. Mako was wearing a mask over his face again. It was his normal one, just a simple bandana that would normally hide half of his face. Combined with the huge sunglasses that somehow managed to fit his head, you couldn’t see his face at all! It kinda annoyed Jamie, if he was completely honest. He wanted to know what his date looked like! Why didn’t Mako show him yet? 

Jamie was already down to five different, probably not plausible reasons why when a thought came to him. Did Mako not want to be seen with Jamie? Is that why he kept himself hidden away?

He felt his heart drop and settle with a weight at the bottom of his stomach. He wouldn’t do that to Jamie...would he? Jamie was cool! He had a few friends and wasn’t too bad. Right? He thought that he was okay at least. (Well, that depended on who you asked. Jamie was known for getting into trouble but that’s another story.) His eyes kept flickering back to Mako as he tormented himself with the thought. Best way to know something was to ask right?

“So, uh, Mako,” Jamie began with a hesitant edge to his voice. “Why ya wear tha’ mask anyways?” 

Mako looked down at the blonde when he spoke. He thought for a few seconds, taking a sip from his drink. Jamie was being tortured over here, barely holding back a scream from the wait. He wasn’t a patient person to begin with, but this question was surprisingly important to him and dammit, he wanted an answer already! Finally,  _ finally,  _ Mako turned towards him. “Don’t like people looking at me.” 

Huh. Well, that was simple enough of an answer, but that confused him even further. “But…mate, ya own a tattoo shop. People are always comin’ in and gettin’ stuff done. Doncha think tha’s a bit weird for ya to hide like tha’?” 

Mako grunted and shrugged those massive shoulders. “Feel more comfortable like this.” He took a sip from his drink, unaware of the impact those words had on Jamie.  

So he wasn’t comfortable with Jamie. His chest felt like it was being squeezed. He forced those thoughts of his head as best as he could and took a deep breath. He looked at his melting boba tea and played with the straw on it. His heart wasn’t in it anymore. Some date this was. Maybe he misread Mako’s intentions and fucked this up. Wouldn’t be the first time. 

His buddy must’ve sensed his shift of moods, because he nudged his shoulder. “Look.” Mako lifted his drink to gesture at a passing couple jogging on the sidewalk near them. Nothing really unusual about them jogging, it was a nice day outside, but the way that they  _ looked _ ! Those godawful colors almost burned a hole in his eyes they were just so bright and totally did not go together. 

Jamie snickered and turned to share a look with the big lug. They were laughing at other people and their fashion choices now? Well, the blonde thought as he turned to scope out somebody else, at least they were sharing an activity together. Maybe it wasn’t the total saint choice, but that was okay with him. He’s done worse. Besides, despite the anxious feeling Jamie had in his chest refusing to go away, he felt a bit more at ease with them doing this together. This was nice. This he could get used to. 

The time flew as they people watched and gossiped about their fashion choices, or just their entire appearance in general. Jamie started to pick out careers that they could do based on their clothes and Mako would put in his suggestion about their partners or what pets they had. Some of them were lame, but that’s only because the people didn’t give them much to work with at those times. Oh well, there were always worse things to gawke at. 

It turned out to be a super nice date after all. Jamie had a lot of fun, probably the most he’s had in a while without getting in more trouble than he’d like to find himself in. As mentioned earlier, he snickered to himself at the memories, he’d gotten into a lot of fights in his time. 

Just as he was about to mention how great he thought this was going, Mako stiffened so much that he thought there was a pole replacing his back. What was wrong? With a glance around the parking lot, he didn’t find anything out of the usual. Well, there was a new car in the lot that wasn’t there before but outside that nothing else had changed. That car wasn’t even that glamorous, it was just a regular ol’ truck with faded racing stripes on it. Maybe if Mako was a huge ass fan of trucks then maybe he’d act like this, but it was very doubtful. 

The owner of the truck stepped out and wow, okay, he had some interesting choice of hair color. Mako’s had been struck with age and was white, but his guy had green hair. Green! Even Jamie wouldn’t go that far with what hair he had left. That’s the really only thing that stood out to the Australian, he wore a leather jacket over a plain shirt and jeans with sneakers. His face had a few piercings, but outside that he was a regular ol’ guy, just like his truck. He was going to comment on his career and continue their people watching game, but apparently to Mako, this guy was like the devil because he scrambled to get up on his feet without a word. 

“Er...Ma-?”

“Go.” Mako grunted at him and took a step closer to Jamie. If he didn’t know any better it was almost a defensive (protective?) gesture. 

This was way too confusing for Jamie and he scrunched his eyebrows together, eyes flickering between the two men. “What?” 

“Go,” Mako grunted louder this time and grabbed Jamie’s forearm, pulling him up so suddenly that his tripped over his prosthetic leg. Mako didn’t let go of him and kept walking at a very brisk pace, pulling him along. 

“Strewth, what is wrong?” Jamie looked over his shoulder and found their drinks still sitting there. “What ‘bout our drinks?” 

“Leave them.” Mako didn’t turn around at all and Jamie kept turning his body around as best as he could, trapped in the death grip his arm was in. 

The only thing he could see that might’ve upset Mako was the new car and the guy. He was fine beforehand, did he know him or something? “Mako?” 

The giant didn’t answer and kept pulling Jamison until they reached his bike. Jamie had only seen his bike a few times before, each time at the shop. It had been big from afar, but up close? Holy shit, this was gigantic! He supposed it had to be to fit somebody the size of his buddy, as insulting as it sounded. To be honest, Jamie wasn’t entirely sure that he was going to be able to get over the bike by himself, especially with his peg leg. 

Luckily, he didn’t have to worry about that for long. Mako must’ve realized it and simply lifted him up from the ground and placed him on the seat in front of him. It made him blush for two reasons. One, Mako only did that with a single hand that covered most of his entire chest. Two, he was placed in front of where Mako was sitting. Normally, Jamie would’ve thought that he’d have taken bitch seat if he ever got to ride with Mako, but apparently not this time. Of course, that’s assuming that he’d ever fantasize about riding with him. Which, of course, is totally crazy. Of course. Totally.  

Mako climbed onto the back, which sent the bike down in order to adjust for the weight gain, and started the motorcycle.  It sent a shiver down Jamie’s back when he realized the fact that Mako would be surrounding him. His belly pushing against his back, his arms trapping him to grip the handlebars, his legs overlapping his, just Mako all around Jamie. While that thought was enticing and admittedly, arousing, a different thought came to him. 

Was it even safe? He didn’t particularly want to be the reason they crashed. He wanted to ask if it was even safe (not that he really cared) if he were in front. Wouldn’t that hinder his sight of the road or something? And he would’ve, probably, except the engine was just so damn  _ loud _ , that he wasn’t sure that he would be heard even if he yelled.

Well, that and the fact that there wasn’t anytime to even speak. As soon as Mako was sure that the bike was on and that Jamie was safe where he was, he stretched his massive arms out and pulled out of his parking spot without another word. 

At first it was a bit clumsy because Jamie didn’t know what to do with his hands and scrambled around, eventually reaching back and gripping Mako’s pants. After a quick glance, and a huge sigh of relief, he didn’t grab him anywhere that would be considered too lewd. But as soon as he got a grip on something stable, Jamie was wrong about one thing, he’d admit right off the bat. There was no way in hell that he would be in any danger with all of Mako surrounding him. He had a meat shield of over five hundred pounds to protect him. It sent shivers through him that he would pass off as just the adjustment to the sudden wind surrounding them. 

And, okay, wow, that was a thing too. He’d never ridden a motorcycle before, but he could definitely see the appeal to them now. With the wind surrounding them (what parts that wasn’t covered), and the rumbling before him, the almost pulling feeling he felt underneath them as they glided over the black pavement road, he just felt...free. It had been less than a minute on this bike, but he already decided that he wasn’t going to be done with riding with Mako. Not by a longshot. Maybe he could get his own bike? Could you ride with half a leg? 

The ride was so entrancing. He tried to squirm around to look at things as they rushed past them, but Mako firmly put a stop to it as soon as it began. Jamie pouted, but didn’t argue. After all, the other was already in a mood for whatever reason. For once, he wouldn’t argue against him and just listen. He didn’t even know where he was being taken. The tattoo shop was the other direction than they were going and Mako was going way too fast to be stopping anytime soon. 

Jamie just shrugged. Really, so long as he was with Mako, he didn’t care where they were going. He leaned back into the massive gut behind him and closed his eyes, just enjoying the ride. 

Eventually, way too short for Jamie’s liking, the bike slowed and eventually stopped deep in the forest. He looked around as Mako got off the bike and picked him off carefully. They were so far from the city, it was barely visible from where they were standing, just a dot in the distance if you knew where to look. Luckily enough, they were on what appeared to be a mountain side with a rocky edge not too far from the bike. (It would’ve been so fun to throw something off the edge and watch it plummet, but he didn’t really have any notice to bring his explosives, a real shame.) The musty smelling trees were surrounded them completely, all different shades of green and brown. There were rocks too, plenty of rocks all around them. Which made sense since they were right next to the edge of what was basically a cliffside. But what that didn’t explain why they were where they were. 

Just as Jamie was about to ask, Mako shook his head at his companion. The words were loud and clear even if they weren’t spoken- _ Not now.  _

The two of them stayed in that area as Mako calmed himself down from whatever was bothering him. Well, Mako mostly sat down by his bike and kept quiet, but Jamie did a bit of exploring. It wasn’t possible for him to sit still for very long, after all. Turns out that this place was exactly the type of place that Jamie would go to to try out any bombs or other explosives he loved to build. He went for the most exciting part first-over by the cliff. He would sometimes chuck his pyro products over the side and watch them explode before they would even hit the ground. Sadly though, he didn’t find anything to throw that was exciting enough for his tastes yet so he settled for spitting over the edge. After a few times of doing it, Mako bitched at him for it and told him to stop, so he begrudgingly did. 

After that, he tried to look around at anything the forest had to offer, but nature was just so boring. It stood in place and grew so slowly, it hardly ever changed. And it was so bloody quiet! Why did it have to be so quiet? It made his fingers twitch with the urge to do something, anything! 

Eventually he just settled down next to Mako and fiddled with a stick in his hands, twisting it and snapping off the tiny twigs that were growing out of it. His date still wasn’t talking, which was starting to concern Jamie. After checking his phone, which was already almost dead, it hadn’t even been an hour since they left the cafe. It had felt like an eternity though and Mako was just sitting there like no time had passed at all! Jamie needed to hold his lips shut and keep quiet so Mako could figure out whatever his deal was with that guy-if that was even was bothering him. 

He lasted about another three minutes before he broke. He had to talk about something, even if it was just about something as stupid as work. And speaking of work, weren’t they going to open shop at noon? It’d take them a while to get back and by that time it would be hours after they were suppose to be there. “Mako, mate, I know this date’s been big mobs of fun-or, at least, has been for me! Hope it’s been fun for ya too, but ain’t we supposed to go open shop?” 

Mako looked up sharply, eyebrows raised so high they were almost in his hairline. Jamie widened his eyes. Was Mako not having fun on the date? 

“Well, I mean, it was ripper for me, I really liked people watchin’ witcha and everything, I hope it was fun for ya too, but if it wasn’t, we can maybe go off and do somethin’ else.” Mako was still staring at him with an unreadable look. If Jamie was able to see his eyes, maybe things would’ve been different, but he couldn’t and was jumping to the worse case scenarios.  “Of course, that’s if ya want to, I won’t bother ya if you don’ wanna, nope, not a word from me, mate! I’ll be as quiet as-!” 

“Jamison.” 

Jamie stopped talking, but still moved his jaw as if he was still speaking. 

“You called it a date.” 

His eyes widened as much as they could as he realized that he did, in fact, call it a date. His heart rate picked up and he felt like he was going to throw up. Holy hell, this was bad! He totally just blurted out the wrong thing but, before he could get another word out, Mako held up a hand to stop him from going into a novel’s worth of words. “I was hoping you would.” 

Okay, maybe Jamie would still spurt out a novel’s worth of words, but this time it would be all good things. 

The two continued to talk for what seemed to be forever. Or rather, Jamie rambled on and Mako listened, amusement written over his face. Every now and then he would chime in his thought or ask him a question, but for the most part he just listened. It was kinda his thing, just listening. After all, a big guy like him, covered in tattoos and piercings, hiding his face? His appearance alone was worth a thousand words. It warmed Jamie’s heart to think that somebody like him would fall for somebody like Jamie.  

He could see Mako eyeing his prosthetic leg a few times during their chats, but he noticed that no move was made to inquire about its beginnings. Mako had asked a few times before, and Jamie would always just give him the standard answer he gave anybody ballsy enough to question it; he lost it in an accident during high school. He shifted it uncomfortably as if hoping Mako would take the hint look away from it. He would probably tell him about it, but not today. Not yet. 

During one of their long conversations, Jamie tried to ask what was wrong before. Mako just shrugged and said he wanted a change of scenery and left it at that. Jamie didn’t really buy it, but before he could voice his opinions, Mako moved onto another topic. He made a mental note to try and coax it out of him later, but knowing his brain he’ll probably forget the entire thing. Pity, that man kinda looked cool with green hair. 

Maybe Mako would let them have dyed hair at work. He could totally see Gabriel or himself dying their hair funky colors. They were already coloring their skin, what was the difference? At least hair was temporary. Speaking of work, the sun was almost setting at this point in the day. They were suppose to open waaaay before this. What were they going to do now? At least Mako was his boss, he could just ask. So he did. 

“What’re we gonna do ‘bout work? Won’t people ‘spect us to be open?” 

Mako shrugged one of his huge arms. “It’ll be open tomorrow.” 

Man, it was awesome dating your boss. Jamie grinned so wide that it felt like his face was going to break. At that mental image he cackled, which turned into coughing when he accidentally started to choke on some spit. Mako chuckled at that, which made all his embarrassment worth it. When there was a pause in the conversation, Jamie pulled out his phone and was pleasantly surprised. It had only been an hour since they started talking. If time stretched on like this forever, so long as Mako was with him, he wouldn’t really mind it. 

**Author's Note:**

> http://mozg-art.tumblr.com/tagged/Tattoo-and-Piercing-Au
> 
> My tumblr is moriarty-i-s-back if you have any requests or suggestions you'd like to see in this :) I'll try to see what I can fit in


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